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Healthcare · head to head

Halaxy vs Kareo

Halaxy logo

Halaxy

Healthcare

Practice management for allied health that charges nothing for the software and earns on payments

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Kareo logo

Kareo

Healthcare

Cloud-based EHR and billing for small practices

From
$99/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Halaxy has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Halaxy the software being free does not mean the platform is cheap: a clinic taking most payments by card pays roughly 1.5 to 1.9 per cent plus a fixed fee on every transaction, which on a high volume practice comfortably exceeds what a flat AUD 60 per practitioner subscription would have cost.; Kareo kareo is now part of Tebra and sold under the Tebra brand rather than as a standalone product
  • They diverge on capability: Halaxy covers No licence fee, Kareo covers Electronic Health Records.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Halaxy and Kareo actually diverge.

Attributes where Halaxy and Kareo differ
AttributeHalaxyKareo
Starting priceFree$99/month
Pricing modelFree software, revenue taken on payments and creditssubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb, Mobile
FoundedUnknown2010

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Healthcare).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Halaxy

  • No licence fee
  • Integrated claiming
  • Credit-based extras
  • Online booking
  • Clinical notes and templates
  • Card payments
  • Multi-practitioner diary
  • Patient portal

Only in Kareo

  • Electronic Health Records
  • Scheduling
  • Patient Portal
  • Medical Billing
  • Payment Processing
  • Labs
  • Pharmacies
  • Clearinghouses

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Halaxy

  • A solo psychologist starting out who wants Medicare and private health claiming without committing to a monthly subscription before there is any incomenot Kareo
  • A physiotherapy clinic that wants patient reminders, online booking and card payments reconciled against invoices in one systemnot Kareo
  • An NDIS provider that needs claim generation and service agreement tracking built into the same record as clinical notesnot Kareo
  • A multi-location allied health group in Australia that wants one diary across sites without paying per practitioner licencesnot Kareo

Kareo

  • Practice management, scheduling and billing for independent medical practicesnot Halaxy
  • Electronic health records and e-prescribing for small clinicsnot Halaxy
  • Insurance claim submission and patient payment collectionnot Halaxy

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Halaxy

  • The software being free does not mean the platform is cheap: a clinic taking most payments by card pays roughly 1.5 to 1.9 per cent plus a fixed fee on every transaction, which on a high volume practice comfortably exceeds what a flat AUD 60 per practitioner subscription would have cost.
  • Credits are prepaid and consumed by ordinary daily activity including SMS reminders and Medicare claims, so running out mid-week silently stops reminders going to patients, which shows up as no-shows rather than as an error message.
  • Features that competitors treat as standard, including two-way calendar sync, API access and a dedicated SMS number, are locked behind the credit subscription, so the headline free tier is thinner than it first appears.
  • Claiming, funding and payment integrations are deeply Australian, so practitioners in the UK, Canada or the United States get the diary and notes but very little of the automation that makes the product worth choosing.
  • Because the vendor earns on payment volume, its interests and yours diverge on card processing: switching to a cheaper acquirer breaks the automatic reconciliation that is the main operational reason to stay on the platform.

Kareo

  • Kareo is now part of Tebra and sold under the Tebra brand rather than as a standalone product
  • Tebra publishes no rate: pricing varies with provider count, features and implementation requirements and is quoted during a demo
  • Billing counts clinical providers such as MDs, DOs, NPs and PAs, so adding a prescriber raises the bill even though non clinical staff are free
  • Electronic prescribing of controlled substances setup costs about $75 per provider as a one time fee
  • PDMP integration costs $500 one time per facility plus about $50 per user per year

Pricing, plan by plan

Halaxy

Free
  • HalaxyFree
    • Unlimited practitioners with no subscription fee
    • Diary, patient records, clinical notes and invoicing
    • Online booking page
  • Premium subscription$25/month
    • Priced at 25 credits per month, so roughly AUD 4 to 6 depending on credit rate
    • Two-way calendar sync
    • White-label branding

Kareo

$99/month
  • Starter$99/month
    • EHR
    • Scheduling
    • Patient Portal
  • Professional$199/month
    • Everything in Starter
    • Billing
    • Reporting

Which should you pick?

Choose Halaxy if

  • You need no licence fee.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want integrated claiming.
Halaxy review

Choose Kareo if

  • You need electronic health records.
  • You work on Web, Mobile.
  • You also want scheduling.
Kareo review

Questions people ask

Is Halaxy or Kareo better?
Neither clearly leads. Halaxy starts at Free and Kareo at $99/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Halaxy or Kareo?
Halaxy has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Halaxy and $99/month for Kareo.
Does Halaxy or Kareo run on more platforms?
Halaxy runs on Web, iOS, Android. Kareo runs on Web, Mobile.
Can I use Halaxy for free?
Yes. Halaxy has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Kareo starts at $99/month.
What is Halaxy best used for?
Halaxy is most often used for a solo psychologist starting out who wants medicare and private health claiming without committing to a monthly subscription before there is any income, a physiotherapy clinic that wants patient reminders, online booking and card payments reconciled against invoices in one system, an ndis provider that needs claim generation and service agreement tracking built into the same record as clinical notes, a multi-location allied health group in australia that wants one diary across sites without paying per practitioner licences. Of those, a solo psychologist starting out who wants medicare and private health claiming without committing to a monthly subscription before there is any income and a physiotherapy clinic that wants patient reminders, online booking and card payments reconciled against invoices in one system are not what Kareo is typically brought in for.
What can Halaxy do that Kareo cannot?
Halaxy covers No licence fee, Integrated claiming, Credit-based extras, Online booking. Kareo covers Electronic Health Records, Scheduling, Patient Portal, Medical Billing.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Halaxy: Is Halaxy genuinely free or is there a hidden subscription?

The core practice management software has no subscription fee for any number of practitioners. Halaxy earns from card processing fees, prepaid credits for SMS and claiming, and an optional premium subscription priced at 25 credits a month.

Kareo: Does Kareo publish its pricing?

No. Kareo (now rebranded as Tebra) uses custom per-practice pricing that varies based on the number of providers, features needed, and implementation requirements. Pricing is determined during a demo with the sales team.

Source
Halaxy: What does it actually cost a busy clinic?

Budget for card fees of roughly 1.5 to 1.9 per cent plus 75 cents to a dollar per transaction, plus credits at about AUD 0.15 to 0.22 each for every SMS, claim and telehealth session. A clinic with heavy card volume can pay more in total than a flat-rate competitor.

Kareo: Are there discounts for adding multiple modules?

Yes. Tebra states that many practices qualify for bundled pricing or volume incentives when adopting multiple modules like EHR, billing, and patient experience tools together.

Source
Halaxy: Can I use it outside Australia?

Yes for the diary, notes, invoicing and booking. No for Medicare, DVA, NDIS and Australian health fund claiming, which is where most of the value sits.

Kareo: What are the additional costs for controlled substance prescribing?

For providers who prescribe controlled substances, EPCS setup costs approximately $75 per provider as a one-time fee, and PDMP integration costs $500 one-time per facility plus around $50 per user per year.

Source
Halaxy: Does it handle NDIS?

Yes, including NDIS claim generation, service agreements and plan management alongside clinical records.

Kareo: Does Kareo offer a free trial?

Kareo's website does not mention a free trial option. Access to pricing and trial arrangements requires contacting the sales team to request a demo.

Source
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